Nuclear Counting Laboratory Sodium Iodide NaI(Tl) Scintillation Detector

By: E.S. Krage Department of Physics, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007.

BACKGROUND
Radioactivity is a process where an unstable nucleus will adjust itself until it is stable either by ejecting portions of its nucleus or by emitting energy in the form of photons (gamma rays). Sodium Iodide (NaI) is a type of scintillation detector that is able to detect these forms of radioactive decay. The scintillation detector was developed by Sir Samuel Curran in 1944 while working on the Manhattan Project.

BASIC PRINCIPAL CONTINUED

EFFICENCIES
The fundamental meaning of efficiency in nuclear counting is the amount observed as a fraction of the amount expected. The overall efficiency of a detector can be considered in terms of intrinsic and geometric efficiency. Geometric efficiency is the measure of the number of photons striking the face of the detector compared to partial interactions of the lack of interactions due to radioactivity being emminated in all directions. The intrinsic efficiency can be calculated if a known source emitting a known number of photons is placed directly against the face of the detector. In this arrangement geometric factors can be ignored. There are two different types of detectors flat and well detectors. The flat detector in Figure 4 is considered to be a 1-D efficiency only capturing incident radiation in on direction. The well detector in Figure 5 is a 3-D detector because of its ability to capture incident photons in 3 directions.

BASIC PRINCIPAL
The Sodium Iodide detector is a form of scintillation detector. The basic principal is the use of a crystal (Sodium Iodide) which will emit photons (scintillates) when interacting with radiation. While the Sodium Iodide is the most common type of material used there are many other forms available. In general the light produced from the scintillating material travels through a window where it gets transferred into a device called a photomultiplier tube (pmt). A photomultiplier tube is made up of components called photocathode, dynodes and an anode. The photons strike the photocathode and in turn it produces electrons. These electrons are then pulled to a series of dynodes through the amplification of a positive high voltage. When the electrons from the photocathode hit the first dynode, several electrons are produced for each incident electron. These many electrons are now pulled to another dynode and the process repeats until it reaches anode. At the time it reaches the anode the volume of electrons is much greater than initially incident on the detector. When the electrons are connected they form a pulse this pulse is further analyzed to determine needed information.

In solid scintillation an incident beam of radiation in this case gamma rays comes in and interacts with the Tl doped NaI and ionizes the Tl. Then in the process of de-excitation a photon will be produced that can be measured by the pmt. Summarizing the mechanisms of photon emission subsequent to electron-hole production in the NaI(Tl) crystal can occur in the following two sequences electron hole trapping and radioactive recombination mechanisms. Electron hole reaction is the majority of the mechanism by which we measure scintillation. The Tl is normally found in the crystal lattice as Ti+ ions. Electrons, e-, are trapped by the Tl+ to form T10 by +Tl+ Tl Tl0 and h++ Tl+ Tl++ The second method is the recombination method where holes are tryapped by the Tl+ to form Tl++. When added to the high voltage we have e- + Tl++ Tl+ + (a photon between 335 to 420nm) this photon is then captured by the pmt.

ANALYSIS

From the pmt the signal will be analyzed using a multi channel analyzer which automatically separates the counts based on the amount of energy contained in the incident photon. The accuracy of separating the different energies is dependent on the type and efficiency of detector. Figure 2 shows the ideal peaks that we would desire for a scintillation detector and what we actually get using a NaI(Tl) detector.

Imperfections in the crystal and circuitry lead to the blurring of the photopeak. The energy the photopeak occurs at can be matched up to a specific nuclide and identified. In the case of Cs137 it has a gamma () decay of 661.65 KeV in the spectrum below we can analyze and find what elements we have present.

Figure 5: Flat NaI Detector

Figure 6: Well NaI Detector

Figure 2: The difference between the ideal photopeak and the true photopeak.

APPLICATIONS
These detectors are used every day in many places such as nuclear power plants national labs and any other place that is concerned with radiation effects. Some highlights of what they are being used for today environmental assay of the Fukushima power plant and how radionuclides are being deposited throughout the world. Scintillation detectors are used as a form of spectroscopy to analyze elemental composition through neutron activation analysis. Carbon dating can use scintillation detectors to age archeological artifacts. A combination of multiple detectors can be used to create medical images.

Solid Scintillation
Incident Radiation Electron Given off Photon From Tl PMT
661.7 Kev Cs137

NaI Cathode

Thallium
Pmt Base

Excited Atom Dynodes

C o u n t s

Compton Plateau

Co60 Peaks
Compton Peak Compton Valley

1.17 MeV

1.33 MeV

PMT

Anode

Energy
Figure 3: Screen shot using Cs137 and Co60 test sources using NaI(Tl) detector serial no. 895

In Figure 3. we observe the effects of Compton peak, Compton peak, and Compton valley. In Compton scattering the incident photon transfers part of its energy to an outer shell or a free electron, ejecting it from the atom. Upon ejection this electron is called a Compton electron. If both the Compton electron and deflected photon are detected their total energy will equal that of the incident photon and the event will register in the photopeak. Often the photon escapes detection, so that the event deposits only the energy of the Compton electron producing a reduced peak value. The Compton valley sum energy of multiple Compton electrons created by one incident photon. The Compton plateau refers to the energies that are less than the Compton peak.

CONTACT
Dr. Robert McTaggart Associate Professor of Physics Coordinator of Nuclear Education South Dakota State University President, North Central Chapter of the Health Physics Society (605) 688-6306

Figure 1: The incident radiation excites the hole and then it gives off an electron and a photon from the Tl which can be then analyzed by the pmt base.